


better late than never

by Khismer



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Other, christmas shenanigans, the last of the
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 11:39:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9233528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khismer/pseuds/Khismer
Summary: Saeran’s brother apparently goes a little bit… well,overboardfor the holidays.You step out with Saeran to get a break.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kirachama (crytalstellar)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crytalstellar/gifts), [ZenTheRainbowUnicorn (FlightlessPhoenix)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlightlessPhoenix/gifts).



When Saeran asked you to stay over with him at his brother’s house for the holidays, you were thrilled.

Well -- actually, he’d been so hesitant about asking, hunching his shoulders and averting his eyes so that you initially thought something terrible had happened. When he managed to mumble out the question, though, you were quick to assure him that you’d be delighted to go.

He, in turn, seemed pleased by your answer, enough that only moments later he was acting as though there was never any doubt you’d say ’yes.’

When you arrived, it was… well. It wasn’t  _ quite _ what you had imagined. When you walked into Saeyoung’s place with presents and overnight bags, you were struck dumb at the sheer number of lights strung up.    
  


Saeran’s brother apparently goes a little bit… well, _ overboard  _ for the holidays. 

“Is he…  _ always  _ like this for Christmas?” you murmured as his fiancee came to greet you. 

Strangely, she shook her head. Huh. 

Well, regardless of what he’s  _ usually  _ like, this year, at least, he went all out for his brother’s arrival. 

Every possible box there is to check was covered. Lights everywhere, garlands too.  _ The  _ biggest tree, barely fitting in the room. He passed out ugly (and slightly itchy) sweaters, and oh, the  _ hats. _

It could be worse. It’s obvious how fond Saeyoung is of his brother, and he’s absolutely  _ thrilled _ to have you both there. Saeran, to his credit,  _ is  _ putting in an effort to deal with it all, but it’s fairly clear that he’s overwhelmed by it, anyway. Enough protest from Saeran is enough for Saeyoung to scale things back, at least temporarily, and thank  _ god _ ; you’re not sure what would have happened if he hadn’t vetoed caroling so quickly. 

Still, it’s all a little  _ much _ . 

He makes it through the days leading up to Christmas, and through the day itself, but when it passes and he still seems wound up, you suggest stepping out for a while. You decide to head out in the morning to avoid running into Saeyoung or his fiancee, trying to see if space helps at all.

The two of you end up just walking for a while, enjoying the freedom of being out and the chance to be alone together, even if you’re not  _ exactly  _ alone with pedestrians milling about around you.

It still  _ is _ cold, though, so you duck into an unassuming shop along the way. Of course, despite the comparatively plain windows of this store next to all the others, there’s Christmas stuff all over  _ here _ , too.

You wander over to the first display rack that catches your eye.

Just about _everything_ over here is discounted. They don’t seem to have had much luck pushing the last of the Christmas stuff; most of the shelves are still pretty full. 

“Hey.”

“Hm?” You glance over at him. He’s holding a package of fake mistletoe, a little sprig of green on a string. 

“Think we should get this?”

You stick your tongue out at him, though you pink, thinking of the  _ last  _ time you two encountered mistletoe. He laughs softly and puts it back, and you continue to rummage through the shelves. 

“Hey babe, think your brother needs any more decorations?” You hold up a set of festive gel window clings. Saeran makes a face, apparently not deeming that question worthy of a reply.

He picks up a weird-looking snowman toy and within seconds it’s singing -- though to be honest, the sound is more like screeching. He places it quickly back on the shelf. 

“Let’s... look at another aisle,” you suggest, trying not to laugh at the look of disgust he’s sending to the toy. 

You turn the corner and -- oh, wow. You blink in surprise.

“Geez,” you say, “this place is a couponer’s paradise. Is that wall  _ just  _ discount candy?”

You wander closer to look. He’s quicker, of course. Nothing gets his attention like sweets. 

You examine the rows with a faint sense of awe. “It _is_ all candy. That’s… incredible.” 

Mmmh. Not all of it.”

“Huh?”

“It’s not  _ all _ candy.”

You blink. “Preeeeeetty sure it is.” 

He glances from you to the shelves, then plucks a -- what is that, an advent calendar? -- from it and shoots you an unimpressed look. 

“Babe, it’s discount, not --  _ used  _ or  _ expired _ . The chocolate in it is _ probably  _ still good. So… yeah, I think that still counts.”

Saeran tilts his head, then peers at the package. Now he looks intrigued. 

He flips it over in his hands. “...in the little flaps?”

It’s like he’s never seen a -- oh. Right. Right, right, right. Boyfriend’s still got a few gaps in his cultural knowledge due to the whole cult thing. Alright, no big deal. 

“Mmmmhmm.” You step closer, poking at one of the numbered doors. “I mean, they’re small pieces, and not, like,  _ godlike _ quality, but 24 pieces of candy are exciting to kids. …or, uh, anyone,” you amend quickly. “It, uh, counts down the days. Till Christmas. It’s just… a fun little countdown, giving you a piece of chocolate every day to reward you for being patient.”

“Hmm,” he says.

And then he starts grabbing a good dozen or so, stacking one on top of another. 

“Babe, hang on--”

He murmurs something that sounds like, “Chocolate every day.”

You shake your head. “Look, you can’t just… just have chocolate  _ every  _ day, that’s not -- it’s -- I mean… huh.” You attempts to come up with a reason are for naught. He looks smug at your lack of answer. “...well. Guess maybe you  _ can _ . But you don’t need an advent calendar for that, you can have candy all the time, anyway.”

It takes you a moment to realize the magnitude of what you’ve said. “Wait wait wait--”

It’s too late. There’s already a glint in his eye. Shit, there’s no way he’s not going to take you up on that. 

“Noooo no no, that wasn’t permission--”

No, don’t turn puppy eyes on you, you’re not going to be able to resist, you’re going to --

Be found minutes later grumpily shouldering two  _ very  _ full plastic bags of advent calendars and various other sweets. You’d worry about how to get all this home, in addition to the many bags he’s holding, but you have a feeling he’ll manage to go through most of it before you leave for home.

“Babe, this is  _ sooooo _ much candy,” you complain.

He hums a little. “Mm _ hmm _ .” He looks pleased, at least. Any irritation you might have felt melts away in the face of fondness. 

“Let’s maybe head back, I… don’t think I wanna go anywhere else while holding these.” You lift the bags higher to indicate your point. 

There’s a pause, and then he says, “...we can go somewhere else after we drop these off.”

You grin. You know it’s partly because he doesn’t want to be around his brother’s enthusiasm just yet, but it’s still nice to hear him say he wants to spend time with you. 

You spin to face him and give a mock salute. “Sure thing, babe!”

He makes a face, but you’re pretty sure you see a hint of a smile there, too. 

You turn back,  _ intending _ to ask if he thinks his brother will be up when you get back, but when you take another step, your foot slides forward, more than you meant to, and then  _ both _ your feet slip out from under you. 

Oh god _ damn _ it, you should have anticipated some of the sidewalks would ice over. 

You yelp as you lurch forward, flailing a little, squeezing your eyes shut as the ground nears -- and then your arm is yanked back, so sudden as to be slightly painful, as an arm wraps around your back.

It takes you a moment to collect yourself. Hesitantly, you open your eyes. He’s staring back at you, pale eyes wide, startled. 

Saeran is holding you in... almost a ballroom dip, except that it was sudden and unexpected and your head is still spinning, and he’s wobbling a little with the effort of holding you. 

“Nice catch,” you say in a shaky voice. “Th-thanks.”

He tugs on your arm and pulls you upright and, ridiculously enough, casts a brief baleful glare at the patch of ice you slipped on. 

One of the bags apparently slipped off your arm when you fell, spilling out its contents onto the pavement. “...sorry about that,” you say as you bend -- carefully -- to help him pick it up.

“You’ll make it up to me.”

“I will?”

“Mmmmmhmm.” He reaches into one of the bags and pulls out the fake mistletoe, which he shakes in your direction. How the hell did he manage to sneak that by you?

You narrow your eyes at him, flushing. “Youuuuu’ve got another thing coming if you think you’re going to hang that up at home.”

“Oh no? Don’t I deserve a little something for that daring rescue, hmm?”

“Well--” Damn. “--maybe.”

You’d be lying if you said the grin that spreads across his face wasn’t attractive.

You start back on your way, slower than before, standing closer to him. 

“...so am I going to get to eat any of that c--”

**“No.” **

**Author's Note:**

> did a fic trade with kirachama and zentherainbowunicorn! (both v v lovely people and wonderful writers.) my prompts were ’discounted advent calendars’ and ’a slippery patch of ice.’


End file.
